Ok. If you follow this blog at all, you know I'm a huge Restoration Hardware junkie. Like, I'm kind of obsessed. So if you're like me, then this post should really excite you.. because it's another Restoration Hardware - esque DIY!!!

{cheering occurs now}

So one day, I'm walking through the RH at the mall (bc it's obviously what I do in my spare time).... and I spot these fabulously phenomenal pieces of art hanging on the walls. While wiping my drool, I immediately grab a sales woman and ask her to tell me everything about them.

"Oh yes... aren't they gorgeous?? The botanicals within the frame are from the 19th Century..." says the sales woman. Now, this, in my head, makes them appealing, sure. But the second she says that I know I'm already unable to afford these 19th Century framed botaaaaanicals. (I say in a hoity toity british accent as I type). But of course, I keep asking questions and the sales lady happily keeps describing them. "The botanicals are from France.. a French countryside..." -RH Sales Lady... (The price keeps rising in my head...) "Each piece is made individually and all are unique..." etc etc etc (This continues). And finally I get up the courage to ask the price. I brace myself. $595. Ouch. I mean, there's 6 pieces in the collection, so when you divide it up PER piece, it's not THATTTT bad. But still, almost $600? I mean, yes, if you have the money to spend $600 on wall hangings, MORE POWER TO YOU. But I just can't. But I LOVEDDD them. But I can't. But they're from FRANCE! But I can't. But they're from the 19th Century! But NO. I can't. WALK OUT OF THE STORE LEAH!!!! So I did. I kindly told the lady I'd have to ask my fiancé and that I'd be back... (complete lie, obviously I wasn't even going to bring this up to Blain bc he'd laugh in my face, but it was my quick escape from her salesperson grasp). So I walk out. I get home, wheels turning, and decided to recreate them myself.

OH YEAH - I kind of forgot ot show you what I'm talking about... so here's a photo from the Restoration Hardware Website...

Here's another glimpse at how they had these delights set up in-store:

I mean COME ON RIGHT?! So I set out in my attempt to recreate... for WAY less, and here's how I did it!!!!!!

My supply list:-Backless Frames (I decided to make a set of 3, 16x20in frames)-Sandpaper-Ivory Spray Paint (I used Krylon colormaster in Ivory)-White Paper (I used paper from a sketch book that was 16x20 which was the size of my frame)-A straight edge (optional)-Pen (optional)-Coffee-Baking sheet-Weeds/flowers-Superglue

OKAY so here we go....

Step 1) Buy your backless frames, also sometimes called "floating frames." I got my 3 16x20in frames from Michaels. I think they were around $15 a piece... STEAL. So I got all 3 frames for just under $50.

Step 2) Disassemble the frames, grab your Ivory spray paint, go outside (or in a well ventilated area) and spray every part of the frame Ivory.

Step 4) Once dry, take your handy dandy piece of sandpaper (I used 100 grit), and get to rubbin'. This will create an aged effect on your frames. They'll look like they've seen a better day, which I know sounds weird... but that's what we're going for here! Also, please note - that I bought BLACK frames on purpose. They actually had white frames when I was at Michaels but I decided against those and went with black. That way, once covered in Ivory spray paint, when I sanded the corners, edges, and made scratches along the frame, the black would show through the ivory and give the desired effect!

Step 5) Get out your sketch pad, straight edge, and black pen. I tore out a few pieces of sketch 16x20 paper, then took my straight edge and made an interior frame around the inside of the paper (seen below). I added a couple extra lines for character here and there as well.

Next, it was time to antique the paper!!

(I freakishly love doing this process...)

Step 6) Lay out some aluminum foil along your counter top (we don't want to stain your counters!) and make sure theres enough space for all of your sketch papers to lay flat. Grab your cup of coffee and a baking sheet. Pour the coffee into the sheet.

Step 7) Antique! Dip each paper into the coffee. Submerge the entire piece of paper under the coffee so it hits every part of the paper. Wait a few seconds, then remove. You'll want to hold the paper by the corners and let the excess coffee drip off into the pan for a few seconds before transferring to dry.

This will make your brand new sketch book paper appear to be antique, weathered, 19th cennnnturrry paper. Lay out each individual sheet onto the aluminum foil and set to dry. This can take a couple hours to COMPLETELY dry. You want them to be totally dry before working with the paper.

While those papers were drying, I went in search of my "botanicals" ... now, as you could probably tell, I did this DIY project while we were still living in our old house. We were actually like a week away from moving at this point. So - I had an idea. I decided to find botanicals (cough - WEEDS) from our old yard to put in the frames, that way, when we moved about a week later, it'd be like taking a little piece of our first home with us to our new home! Genius?! Maybe so. And trust me, we had a TON of weeds in our old yard, so finding a few to use was a piece of cake.

There was one bush in particular that I really liked. It almost looked like dried out baby's breath, except once I picked a few I realized they were covered in burrs and not flowers (you might know what I'm talking about). But I shrugged it off because I knew once they were up in a frame on a wall, you wouldn't be able to tell they were burrs/weeds, they'd look like (say it with me in a British accent...) "19th centuryyyy French botannnnicals"

SO! Once the "antiqued" paper was ready, I was ready for the next step.

Step 8) Lay out your weeds onto the antiqued paper. Once you get it in a place you think looks FABULOUS, I took a tiny tiny tiny bit of super glue, put a dot on the back of a couple stems, and help the weed down for a few seconds.

Step 9) Once all of your "botanicals" are in place, reassemble the frames! (Remember those amazing antiqued ivory frames we did earlier?! Yeah, those).

And then? Guess what? You're done. Then you hang them on your wall and admire your RECREATION of a RESTORATION HARDWARE look and start patting yourself on the back.

We really wanted some clean, simple, neutral colored art pieces in our bedroom to go with the tranquil theme of the room... and these... were... a perfect FIT! AND they're Restoration Hardware inspired so OBVIOUSLY they're perfect. (Don't mind Barkley lounging in most of these pictures... he tends to think the master bedroom is actually HIS bedroom but that's a different story entirely). ENJOY!

Now - here are some close ups and a comparison... The original Restoration Hardware collection cost about $600, the knock offs I made, total cost: just under $60! I knocked off the wall decor, and knocked off a zero on the price tag! I don't hate it!

Sometimes I wonder why I started this blog... because now whenever people come over and they see these hanging in our master bedroom or they look at the tables in our family room, they'll know all my secrets!! This stuff is supposed to look expensive, you're not supposed to know it's a DIY!!!

Well, shoot. My cover is blown. So I guess if you come over, just play along? :)

Great Information sharing .. I am very happy to read this article .. thanks for giving us go through info.Fantastic nice. I appreciate this post.

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About Leah

Chicago girl married to a South Georgia boy, living in Nashville. Together, making life a bit more beautiful, one step at a time. These are my stories, my recipes, my DIYs... all coming together as our Rhodes to Happiness. [click the photo for more info]

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